It was 1987 and in that period biker rallies in Italy were practically non-existent. A few small meetings of the so-called Blue Jackets, some meetings of local biker groups, but nothing more. Thus the "Motârs" (translation into the Friulian language of the word "biker"), a group of expert Friulian motorcyclists and raiders, decide to commit themselves to the creation of a particular festival, more complex than the few existing in Italy, an event that would follow in the footsteps of the large rallies in Northern Europe, in particular those well known to them organized in Germany (the German Bike Week, the Biker Union Rally and the President Rally) or overseas (Daytona and Sturgis first and foremost). The beginning was difficult and the first edition, that of 1987, was marked by pouring rain. On Friday there were no more than 250 participants, but on Saturday they reached the considerable number of around 600 people, with over 400 motorbikes. Not many, but for a small community like that of Villanova di San Daniele (Udine), which has only a thousand inhabitants, the biker rally represents a sort of invasion: so many tattoos, tents and such long forks had never been seen before. seen before. In those years it was a great success for the national biker movement and for the organizers. For the first time in Italy, biker handshakes (with thumbs crossed) are seen and copied, in a few years all Italian motorcyclists will shake hands in that way. The interest and the participants in the meeting grow year after year in a progressive and constant manner despite the rain that drenches almost every edition.
The credit goes to the attentive and expert organizers who take care of every detail to make guests feel at ease: kindness, lighting, services and shows are plentiful. Each parked motorbike has a wooden board under the stand to prevent it from collapsing. “The best” of everything seen at rallies across Europe is copied. The initiatives that accompany the party are also growing: lotteries with motorbikes, mopeds, leather clothing and helmets up for grabs, trips to Daytona (for the winners of the Bike Show), stands, tattoo and airbrush conventions, helicopter rides, bungee jumping, sexy shows with great erotic stars (Luana Borgia, Baby Pozzi and Selen Edelweiss among many), increasingly bigger and more important concerts (Ronnie James Dio, Kim Brown, Creedence Clearwater Rev ., Status Quo, Uriah Heep, Dr. Feelgood, Sweet, Alvin Lee, Whitesnake, Motorhead, Soon, Rats, Yardbirds, Animals, Canned Heat, Wishbone Ash, Blues Pumpm, Alex Sure Band, Trutz “Viking” Groth, Ten Years After, Kim & The Cadillacs, Saxon, Twin Dragons and Tony Martin [Black Sabbath], Andrea Braido, Uli Roth of the Scorpions and Jaime Dolce, to name a few), games of all kinds with birth (for the first time in Italy) of monobike races, the participation of famous people and names from the world of sport and entertainment. Thus we reached 4,000 people in '90, 13,000 in '94 and over 23,000 in '97 during the eleventh edition, in a limitless crescendo. All in an atmosphere of friendship and solidarity that unites all the European participants present in the name of passion for motorbikes, whatever it may be. In 1998 the choice was made, which proved to be a winning one, to change the location of the event, which had now become too limited and not safe enough to contain the tens of thousands of participants. From Villanova di San Daniele we move on to Osoppo, still in the province of Udine, about ten kilometers from the previous headquarters. The new area is that of Rivellino di Osoppo, large (approximately 280,000 m2, of which 6,000 are covered), spacious and surrounded by greenery. In 1999 there were 32,000 visitors, with over 17,000 parked motorbikes, of all types and brands.
The great new features of the 13th edition are the national Dragster competitions and the international Stunt Men competition, the first and last held to date in Italy. Given the excellent success of the event and the great sense of civility of the participants, the organizers received public praise from the Mayor of Osoppo and the first citizens of the neighboring municipalities. In 2001 we returned to the municipality of San Daniele del Friuli, this time however in the area of the renowned ham factories, a space large enough for everyone, but unfortunately without any natural shelter from the scorching sun. Furthermore, a bureaucratic imposition requires reducing the event from four to just two days; a price in terms of attendance that will be paid for years to come. Despite this, bikers continue to arrive, even from overseas, to experience the adrenaline-filled atmosphere at the Biker Fest, which has supported the event for years via a dedicated website. An Overland truck was present on this occasion in support of Unicef. Ricky Angerer and the Show Action Group are entrusted with the acrobatic shows, while for the music the names of the unforgettable Status Quo (GB) and Creedence Clearwater Revived (USA) resonate. 2002 arrives in an instant and sees the return of the event to where it was born 16 years earlier, but now the visitors have more than multiplied a hundredfold and the space available is too small. Other shows and attractions are added to the more traditional ones, but as always good music reigns supreme. The 17th edition in San Daniele del Friuli (UD) was not the most favourable, due to the excessive heat (42°) and also the unfair competition put in place by certain traders outside. After numerous efforts to find a more suitable space to host the event, in 2004 the event moved to Monte Zoncolan in Sutrio, where the excellent hotel accommodation allows us to satisfy the needs of all types of bikers, from the roughest to the most tired and stressed, who are looking for fun and relaxation after weeks of hard work. After the 25th edition which took place in 2011 in the Rivellino Park in Osoppo, the big turning point in 2012 brought the event to Lignano Sabbiadoro, modifying its setting and totally reinventing the format. Now the Biker Fest uses an entire seaside city, and in just two years it has already been consecrated as the Italian Daytona.
